Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $61.86 and last traded at $62.22, with a volume of 10728363 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target (down from $93.00) on shares of Best Buy in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Best Buy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.22.

Best Buy Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.02 and a 200-day moving average of $87.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $12.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.30%. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $3,784,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 55,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This trade represents a 47.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,538 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its position in Best Buy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 43,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $3,708,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 529 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 861 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,002 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc engages in the retail of technology products in the United States, Canada, and international. Its stores provide computing and mobile phone products, such as desktops, notebooks, and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; networking products; tablets covering e-readers; smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness products, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products, as well as home theaters, which includes home theater accessories, soundbars, and televisions.